May Allah SWT Bless Their Souls

Mahfuz bin Dahlan

Kiyahi Mahfuz bin Dahlan was born at Bawean Island, Indonesia. After he finished his early studies at a pondok pasanteren in his villiage, he went to Java Island for higher studies. This was the norm then for Bawean sons.

After he completed his higher studies at Java, he went to Singapore. This was in the early 1930s. He stayed at Pondok Tambilung, 40 Everton Road. During that time, the Baweanese used to stay together in shared communal accommodations known pondok.

Kiyahi Mahfuz was not only the founder of the neighboring pondoks, he was also their trusted teacher. He taught them fardhu ‘ain (the fundamentals of Islam) using Arabic textbook such as Safinah al-Naja, Sullam al-Taufiq and Matan Ajrumiyyah.

His religious contributions were not limited to just the pondoks. He was also very active at the national level. He was a member of the sighting the crescent committee organised by Jamiyah in the 1960s to observe the Ramadan and Shawal cresent. He was also one of the judges for the national Quranic Recitation Competition in 1963. According to sources, the government seek his advice during the emergency years.

There were frequent discussions between him and his contemporaries such as Kiyahi Ahmad Zuhri Tamim, Kiyahi Abu Bakar Asyiq, Naib Kadi Kiyahi Ibrahim (Baeng).

He left behind a book on Isra’ and Mikraj (the night travel and ascension to the heavens of Prophet Muhammad pbuh) which he translated from Arabic to Baweanese.

He breathed his last breath at his son-in-law’s house, Ustaz Arsyad bin Noor, Jalan Penjara Queenstown in 1966.